Latest numbers from public health agencies continue to show the delta variant is causing an increase in COVID-19 cases nationally and locally.
Latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show 109,127 new cases, pushing the total in the U.S. to more than 40.3 million. Nearly a million new cases, 980,410, have been reported in the last seven days. The current 7-day moving average is 123.6% higher than approximately one year ago.
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The CDC estimates that the delta variant now is responsible for 99% of new cases. The continued increase in cases is reflected in South Carolina’s latest reports.
Dr. Brannon Traxler, public health director for the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control said, “South Carolina has surpassed three-quarter of a million cases of COVID-19. We have lost 10,996 South Carolinians to this deadly disease.”
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She said cases among students and staff are climbing at rates much higher than this time last year.
Traxler said, “We’re currently reporting 5,865 total cases among students and school employees, which is about 30% of the total cases for the entire school year last year and it’s only the beginning of September.”
Total cases in Georgia now stand at 1,144,884. The update released Sept. 7, which includes the long weekend, showed 22,102 new cases reported.
Death tolls also remain high. CDC reports 1,020 new deaths bringing the nationwide total to 649,299. In Georgia the Department of Public Health reports 155 new death, raising the total number of deaths to 20,453. In South Carolina, 50 deaths were reported on Sept. 9.
Traxler sees three main reasons for the latest surge.
“Not enough people are vaccinated. Not enough people are consistently and properly wearing masks. The delta variant is proving to be hyper-transmissible,” she said.
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The South Carolina Children’s Hospital Collaborative, which represents the four children’s hospitals in the Palmetto State, has started providing a daily report of the number of children aged 0 to 17 who are hospitalized with COVID-19. On Sept. 9, there were 32 children hospitalized with the virus, 14 in critical care and 11 on ventilators.
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The latest numbers from the Richmond County School System for Aug. 30 – Sept. 3 shows 184 positive cases among students with 920 students quarantined. There are 36 positive cases among teachers and 61 are quarantined.
In Columbia County, there are currently 365 students positive for COVID-19 and 44 employees.
Aiken County report covering Aug. 30 to Sept. 3 said 350 students are positive and 5,048 are quarantined. There are 29 positive employees and 100 are quarantined.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
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